Meet Dr. Parisi
Growth-focused leader and data-driven problem solver, Dr. Michaela C. Parisi is an educator, researcher, and advocate with a passion for equitable, community-centered education based in the Detroit metro area.
My Why
As an undergraduate student, I had the opportunity to serve as a K-8 multilingual support specialist working with newcomer emergent bilingual students. Although the students I served were brilliant and had a wealth of cultural and linguistic capital, they were often excluded (unintentionally) from classroom participation. Witnessing the barriers to educational opportunities these students faced ignited my passion for educational equity. The memory of these students continues to
motivate me today.
Since 2015, each student I have had the pleasure of getting to know has added their name to my list of reasons why. In each interaction, I have learned more about the incredible complexity of humanity and our shared human condition. My thanks to each one for teaching me the importance of relationship-building and community development.
Additionally, throughout my career, I have been fortunate to learn from, meet, and collaborate with diverse educators who have mentored me and informed my educational philosophy and instructional approach. They have taught me that each of us has incredible power to influence change, but no one can do it all on their own. When we combine our strengths and work together towards a shared vision, we can improve the success of all students. The tenacity, creativity, and resilience of these individuals inspire me and serve as a guiding light. These people and so many more are my reasons why.
Character Strengths
I believe that strong teams are composed of individuals with diverse character strengths. When leaders identify, value, and draw on the different strengths of individual team members, everyone benefits. This requires leaders to know their own strengths and address their weaknesses.
According to The VIA Institute on Character Strengths Survey, my top five strengths are love of learning, kindness, curiosity, honesty, and judgement. These strengths show up in my professional work and personal hobbies. I enjoy spending my time mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, intentionally learning and reflecting on my growth. I love reading, listening to podcasts, taking classes, attending conferences/worshops, and participating in community groups and events (shout out to my time bank and weekly trivia team!).
My friends describe me as being inquisitive, passionate, and caring. I’m known for asking thought-provoking, often silly, questions—a strategy I started using as an educator and coach to lower the affective filter and build connections. I love
getting to know others by listening carefully to their responses to seemingly innocuous questions like, “If you had a captive and engaged audience right now for a 15-minute TED Talk, what would you talk about?” Each answer reveals information about the respondents values, identity, and dreams.
Both personally and professionally, I seek to demonstrate unconditional positive regard. People may not remember your name, but they will remember how you made them feel, so I aspire to consistently demonstrate care, acceptance, and value of others’ inherent humanity, irrespective of their circumstances. I seek to acknowledge the diverse wealth of knowledge, capabilities, and capacity for growth of each individual. Perhaps because I am so curious, I believe it is important to examine issues from all sides and justly evaluate all evidence and stakeholder input. I believe that advancing equity and justice requires elevating marginalized voices. This principle guides my research and spurred my pursuit of an interdisciplinary PhD. I am intentional in the questions I ask and strive ensure that all stakeholders are consulted and considered when tackling problems and developing solutions. This is the reason I take a community-based participatory action research approach.
Ultimately, I believe it’s important to communicate in a genuine and sincere way, taking responsibility for my feelings and accountability for my actions. Honesty is the base of genuine relationships and strong teams. Transparency builds trust.
Both of these—honesty and transparency—are required for teams and communities to thrive.
Leadership Style
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
This quote from John Adams is the inspiration for my servant leadership style. I believe impact is multiplied and sustained when leaders are facilitators who motivate and inspire others towards continual improvement. The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner serves as my leadership model. In fact, my civic leadership students often bemoaned my frequent references to The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. I believe that these behaviors can be used by anyone—from those in formal
positions of authority to neighbors forming coalitions—to improve their leadership practice.
I strive to continually improve my leadership practice through self-reflection and elliciting feedback from those I work with. In January 2026, seven of my managers and coworkers provided me with feedback on my execution of the Five Practices
via the Wiley Brand Leadership Practices Inventory. According to the their feedback, my top ten most frequent leadership behaviors are:
- Treating people with dignity and respect (Enable Others to Act)
- Following through on the promises I make (Model the Way)
- Setting a personal example for what I expect of others (Model the Way)
- Speaking with genuine conviction about the higher meaning and purpose of
the work (Inspire a Shared Vision) - Taking initiative in anticipating and responding to change (Challenge the
Process) - Seeking out challenging opportunities that test my own skills and abilities
(Challenge the Process) - Ensuring that others grow in their jobs by learning new skills and developing
themselves (Enable Others to Act) - Actively listening to diverse points of view (Enable Others to Act)
- Making certain that people adhere to the principles and standards that have
been agreed
upon (Model the Way) - Identifying measurable milestones that keep projects moving forward
(Challenge the Process)
When asked about my strengths, my evaluators wrote:
“As a gifted teacher, Michaela led down by empowering her students. She didn’t just deliver content; she helped students set individual goals, recognize their strengths, and intentionally develop leadership skills. By fostering independence, self-reflection, and confidence, she created future leaders rather than passive learners.”
“Michaela is enitrely reliable and anticipates challenges before they occur. The project she has helped us launch will require new rounds of data collection every year – she has learned from the challenges at launch and has developed processes and documentation to ensure that future years move smoothly. Her work will have a positive impact on future team members.”
“Michaela is excellent at making people feel recognized and valued for their accomplishments and contributions. She is also excellent at explaining a vision for the future and getting others engaged and excited about it.”
“Michaela’s strengths center on active engagement for the common good of the organization and seeing the big picture and vision for the future of possibilities. Her greatest strength is seeing the big picture for the vision and endless possibilities that can exist in the future regarding the potential of herself and others.”
“One of her greatest strengths is her strong desire to continuously learn and develop new skills. She proactively seeks out opportunities to work in areas where she may not yet be the strongest, viewing these experiences as intentional growth opportunities rather than limitations. This willingness to step outside of her comfort zone allows her to rapidly expand her knowledge, strengthen her skill set, and contribute more effectively over time. Her commitment to learning not only supports her own professional growth but also adds value to the team by increasing overall capacity and adaptability.”
“Michaela is great at anticipating change, planning and clearly communicating needs. She shares a vision for the future and voices how different moves/actions will impact that.”
Educational Philosophy
My educational philosophy is rooted in transformational pedagogy and humanitarian ideals. It is my belief that all students have unique needs and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I believe that teachers should be facilitators of learning first and foremost by valuing students’ motivation, hopes, and humanity and acknowledging the diverse experiences and identities they bring to the classroom. I believe that students who have caring teachers that
center their classrooms on humanitarian beliefs and social-emotional learning become well-rounded and self-directed learners. When teachers genuinely care about students as humans with unique capabilities and needs, we put our faith in
them and demonstrate a confidence in them that is felt and noticed. When we meet students where they are at (zone of proximal development), students feel more confident and engage more readily. It is in these feelings of efficacy, confidence, and belonging that students transform into successful contributors to an ever-changing global context.
One of my core beliefs is that students are capable of conceptualizing and creating change. Too infrequently do we involve students in the very decisions that affect their future. I believe that when we consider, include, and analyze the perspectives of students, teachers are more able to meet the needs of each individual student. It is this belief that serves as the foundation for my instructional and curricular design.
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